Guidelines for Writing Final Year Project Reports for the award of

Diplomas in the Department of Computer Science The Polytechnic Iresi,

Osun State.

The followings are the components required in a properly prepared report of work/study undertaken
during the course of carrying out the final year project;

(1)General Requirements
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Language Style
1.3 Technical Specifications
1.3.1 Report/Thesis title length
1.3.2 Page layout
1.3.3 Type of paper
1.3.4 Typeface and font size
1.3.5 Margins
1.3.6 Spacing
1.3.7 Pagination
1.3.8 Binding
1.4 Report Submission

(2)Report/Thesis Format
2.1 Title Page
2.2 Certification
2.3 Dedication
2.4 Acknowledgment
2.5 Abstract
2.6 Table of Contents
2.7 List of Tables (if there is any)
2.8 List of figures ( if there is any)
2.9 List of Abbreviations and Acronyms
2.10 Body of the Report
2.10.1Chapter 1: Introduction
2.10.2Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.10.3Chapter 3: Design Methodology (Design & Implementation)
2.10.4Chapter 4: Testing(or Measurements), Results and Discussion
2.10.5Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations
2.11 Figures
2.12 Tables
2.13 Equations
2.14 Citation and References
2.15 Appendices

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(A) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1.1 Introduction
This guide is intended to assist students of the Department of Computer Science The
Po;ytechnic Iresi, Osun State, in the preparation of their final year reports in terms of formatting
and writing conventions. Students should refer closely to this guide and seek clarification with the
Departmental Project Coordinators on specific matters relating to the preparation of their reports.
The aim of this document is to ensure that all final year project theses submitted to the
Department are written and prepared to the same standard quality.

1.2 Language Style

The report/thesis should be written in English Language preferably using the British spelling
convention. Students should maintain consistency throughout the report.

1.3 Technical Specifications

The report must be printed on only letter-quality or laser printer. Please note that only the original
copy of a report or good and clean photocopies will be accepted. Copies with correcting fluid
will NOT be accepted.

1.3.1 Report/Thesis Title Length

Students should endeavour to limit the number of words in their report title to 15, at most. It should
also be noted that the title should not carry a full stop at the end.

1.3.2 Page Layout

The text should be presented in the portrait layout. The landscape layout may be used for figures
and tables where the need arises.

1.3.3 Type of Paper

White A4 size (210mm x 297mm) 80 g paper or paper of equivalent quality should be used. Students
must include an extra blank sheet for the front and back of the thesis. Photocopies of the thesis/report
must be on similar quality paper.

1.3.4 Typeface and Font Size

The text of the thesis, including headings and page numbers, must be produced with the
same font, preferably Times New Roman. The font size should be 12-point Times New
Roman (or equivalent) and should not be scripted or italicised except for scientific names and terms
in a different language. Bold print may be used for headings. Footnotes and text in tables should not
be less than 8-point.

1.3.5 Margins
The left margin should be at least 30 mm, and the right, top and bottom margins are to be maintained
at 25 mm at least. Margin specifications are meant to facilitate binding and trimming. All

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information such as text headings, footnotes, and figures, including page numbers, must be
within the text area.
1.3.6 Spacing
The thesis/report should be double-line spaced, with four spaces between paragraphs and sections.
The followings, however, should be single-line spaced: i. Footnotes (if absolutely necessary); ii.
Quotations of three lines or more, indented and set in a block; iii. Multi-line captions (tables,
figures); v. Headings or subheadings.

1.3.7 Pagination
All pages, including pages containing tables, figures and appendices, should be numbered
consecutively throughout the thesis. Page numbers should be centred at the bottom margin. They
should appear by themselves and should not be placed in brackets, be hyphenated or be accompanied
by decorative images. Text, tables and figures should be printed on one (1) side of each sheet only.
Preliminary pages preceding Chapter 1 must be numbered in lowercase Roman numerals such
as i, ii, iii, etc. It should be noted that while the title page is counted as page i, it is usually
suppressed. Meanwhile, the Introduction section in Chapter 1 carries page 1.

1.3.8 Binding
Before making the required number of copies and binding the thesis, students should ensure that all
Departmental requirements have been met and necessary signatures have been obtained. Ensure
that all pages are in the correct order. The report should be bound with a purple (HND) and
green(ND) hard cover and the binding should be of a fixed kind in which pages are
permanently secured.

The following are requirements for the front cover:

A. Report Spine (HND)
The spine must be entirely lettered in gold, using a 20-point font and must contain the
following:
i. Names of student;
ii. Diploma for which the thesis/report is submitted; and iii.Year of
submission.

B. Cover Page (HND & ND)

The cover page must be entirely lettered in gold using 18-point gold block font and contain the
following:
i. Title of thesis/report; ii. Names of student; iii. Matric
number; iv. Name of the Department, School and
Polytechnic; and v. Month and Year of submission.

1.4 Thesis Submission

Before making the required number of copies and binding the thesis, ensure that all
requirements have been met. Check that all pages are in the correct order. Similarly, ensure that all
figure and table page numbers are correct as indicated on the lists of figures and tables.

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Four (4) hardbound final theses should be submitted to the Department via the Project
Coordinators. In addition, a CD containing the soft copy of PDF/MS Word version of the
thesis and any other material such as developed software should be submitted along. It is
important for students to note that the CD must not be passworded.

(B) REPORT/THESIS FORMAT

The following describes what is generally known as the conventional format of a thesis. A thesis
generally consists of three main parts: preliminary pages, text or main body (which is usually divided
into chapters and sections) and supporting pages containing references/bibliography and
appendices. The preliminary pages include the title page, declaration, approval, dedication (if
any), acknowledgements, abstract, table of contents, and lists of figures, list of tables, and list of
symbols and abbreviations. Please note and follow the chronological order given above. Apart
from the title page, all other items mentioned above are page titles, and each should begin on a new
page, written in bold capital letters and centered on the page. The page contents should be
written with left and right justification.

2.1 Title Page

The title page should include the following: i.
Full title of thesis/report;
ii. Full names of student with matriculation number;
iii. Diploma for which the thesis is submitted; iv.
Name of the Department;
v. Name of the Department, School and Polytechnic and vi.
Month and year of submission.

A good title is designed to stimulate the reader’s interest and should describe the content of the thesis
accurately and concisely.

2.2 Certification Page

This section will be signed and dated by the project supervisor, project cordinator and the
Head of Department after all corrections pointed out have been made by the student.

2.3 Dedication (Optional)

The dedication page is optional in a thesis, If used, the title is typed in capital bold letters and the text
should be double-line spaced. It should be brief and may not include the word “dedicated”. For
example, “To my parents” is sufficient.

2.4 Acknowledgements
It is an acceptable practice in technical writing to express appreciation to individuals and/or
organisation(s) who have significantly contributed in one way or another to the success of the

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study/project. Students should note that the use of informal tone and syntax is allowed in this section
of the thesis.

2.5 Abstract
Abstract is a digest of the entire thesis and should be given the same careful attention as the main
text. It is an independent component of the main body of the document, which appears at the
beginning of the thesis. It should not include any references. Abbreviations or acronyms used in
the thesis must be preceded by the full terms at the first use. Abstract should be limited to
250 words, single paragraph, single line spacing. It should include a brief statement of the
problem and objectives of the study, a concise description of the research method and design,
a summary of the major findings including their significance, and conclusions drawn from the
study/project.

2.6 Table of Contents

The Table of Contents (TOC) lists in sequence, all relevant subdivisions of the thesis with their
corresponding page numbers.

2.7 List of Figures

Figures include graphs, maps, charts, engineering drawings, photographs, sketches, printed images,
and any other form of illustration that is not a table. The exact titles or captions and their
corresponding page numbers must be listed in sequence. Figures, including any in the appendices,
should be numbered consecutively throughout the thesis. However, a list of figures is not
necessary if the whole thesis contains only one or two figures.

2.8 List of Tables

The list shows the exact titles or captions of all tables in the text and appendices, together with the
starting page number of each table, and must be listed in sequential order. Like figures, if
the whole thesis contains only one or two tables, a List of Tables may not be necessary.

2.9 List of Symbols, Acronyms and Abbreviations

A list of symbols, acronyms and abbreviations used in the thesis should be provided in the thesis to
explain them. This list should be the last item in the preliminary section. It serves as a ready
reference to readers not familiar with the abbreviations used in the thesis. However,
universally recognised scientific symbols, such as CO2, cm, mm, kg, ha, etc., need not be
listed.

2.10 Thesis Body

The body of a thesis normally consists of sections which are organised in chapters. Chapter one is
usually the Introduction chapter, while Chapter two is normally dedicated to the literature
review, although a more specific title may be given to the chapter. For chapters three and
four, a title reflecting the contents of the chapter should be given. Chapter five concludes the
thesis and also makes some recommendations for future work on the project.
A chapter may be divided into major sections and subsections. Main or primary headings of chapters
are to be in uppercase letters and centred while sub-headings are left justified, with the first letter of

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eacword in uppercase letters. Tertiary headings are also left justified but only the first letter of the
first word is to be capitalised. A paragraph should have maximum of 10 lines and minimum of 5
lines. Avoid using: for example, e.g., etc, They, he , she, I, we.

2.10.1 Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter introduces the subject matter and problem(s) being studied, and indicates its
importance and validity. This can be supported by citing relevant literature on the subject. Other
information expected in this chapter includes the significance of the study, motivation, main
aim and objectives, methodology intended to employ to solve the problem, the scope of the
study/project (if applicable), and the thesis outline.

2.10.2 Chapter 2: Literature Review

This chapter should be devoted to a critical review of the technical and academic literature on
previous works on the project. The significance of literature review is to evaluate the current
work with respect to the existing works. In addition to this, literature review is highly
important in that it provides the author with insights to really understand the problems and
limitations of the previous researchers on that study/project. Students are to note that literature
review is not simply a summary of works of different authors; rather it should give the gist of
each book or pertinent findings of a journal article and explain how it relates to the topic and
why it is inadequate to answer the research questions. Greater part of references is usually
found in this chapter. The more the references, the better, for this shows how far the student
has searched and how much his knowledge on the topic has been expanded.

2.10.3 Chapter 3: Design Methodology (Design and Implementation)

This chapter should concentrate mostly on the student‟s own work on the project. This may involve
system design and calculations, modelling and simulation of a system, data collection and
analysis, software development and implementation, description of construction works, etc.
The aforementioned items are broken down and developed into relevant meaningful
subchapters. The problems encountered in the course of the study may also be stated here.
Under the design calculations, students should show how all values of various components used in
the study are obtained. All the assumptions made should be clearly stated and any material selected
based on any standard should be referenced adequately in the text. The circuit diagram of
each module should be carefully drawn and explained, selection of components must be
justified, etc. The chapter should be broken into headings and subheadings. The number of
headings will depend on the particular work. However, these subheadings must flow according to
the order of the modules of the work, culminating to the assembly of all the modules to form the
complete work.

2.10.4 Chapter 4: Testing( Measurements), Results, and Discussion

This chapter should contain steps taken to test the developed device. Test and measurement methods
must be properly documented. The results obtained should either be tabulated or plotted

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depending on the type of work. Signals could be photographed and the photographic plates
pasted on the work. Thorough testing is very helpful in bringing out the quality of the work.
The results obtained in the study must be discussed extensively. The meaning should be
explained and their relevance to the aim of the project should be highlighted. A good
discussion of results will look at various aspects of the results. Similarly, the student should try to
compare, contrast and integrate his/her results with the findings of other studies. Finally, the
shortcomings/limitations of the work must be explained and possible remedy suggested.

2.10.5 Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations

The conclusion should summarise the highlights of the previous chapters and should briefly
mention the findings of the project. It should clearly state the contributions of the work. On the
other hand, recommendations section should state the constraints of the study and
recommendations for other possible future work.

2.11 Figures
Diagrams or figures are often used in the text to complement an explanation in order to
enhance understanding of the presentation. Each diagram or illustration should bear a
meaningful caption that is numbered sequentially in accordance with the chapter number and
not the section or subsection number in which they appear. The figure caption should be located at
the bottom of the figure as close as possible to where it is cited in the text. All figures should be
referenced in the text and this should be done prior to the appearance of such figures. Students should
avoid referring to a figure as “the above figure” or “the below figure”; rather, the actual figure
number or name should be mentioned in the text. Figure 1 illustrates how a figure and its caption are
presented in a thesis/report.

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2.12 Tables
As with figures, students should ensure that all tables shown in the thesis, including those in the
appendices, are referred to in the text. Tables should be numbered with Arabic numerals
throughout the thesis. A table should be on the page following the first reference to it or, on the

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following page if the available space cannot accommodate it. When a large table is placed in
landscape orientation, the top of the table should be at the binding edge. The table number, title and
caption should be single-line spaced and placed above the table. Each table should have a
meaningful caption and must be numbered according to the chapter number in which it
appears. For example, Table 1.1, Table 1.2 and Table 1.3 to indicate they belong to Chapter 1;
Table 2.1, Table 2.2 and Table 2.3 to Chapter 2, and so on. Please note that the use of Table 2.1.2,
because the table appears in sub-section 2.1, is not acceptable. It is encouraged to use 10 point
font size for the contents of your tables, and all vertical lines must be removed from your tables
as illustrated in Table 1.

2.13 Equations
All equations, whether mathematical or chemical, are considered as text and should be typed
using Equation Editor or MathType in Microsoft Word. These equations should be numbered
sequentially according to the name of the chapter in which they appear for ease of reference.
Equation numbers should be enclosed in parentheses and made to align towards the right hand
margin of the text. If detailed derivation is needed, it is to be placed in an appendix. Each equation
should appear on its own line and should be indented from the left margin of the text. The use of
leaders (dotted lines in-between the equation and its number) is no longer fashionable. Find
eqn (1) as an illustration in a thesis.

2.14 In-text Citations and References

In-text citation is a brief mention of the source at the point where the information is
presented in the text while the References or Bibliography section contains the list of works

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cited in the thesis. In-text citations are usually placed at the end of sentences. While there are
several referencing formats in use, this Department shall adopt the APA style of citation and
listing. References should be well cited inside the write-up e.g.

(Adewale and Adeniran, 2015) – for two authors (Adewale et

al, 2015) – for more than three authors.

(Adewale, 2015) – for a single author.

Then the reference should be listed alphabetically and should follow the format below. e.g.
Journal:
Adeyemo, A. A (2015), Development of a finger print scanner, Journal of
Engineering and Applied Science, vol. 1, no 1, pp. 10-15 Or
Book

Adeyemo A. A (2015), Data communication, 2nd edition, bubble bee, N.Y.

Author (year), Title, edition, Publisher, place of publishing, pp

Students are advised to consult with their respective supervisors for guidelines and details of APA
referencing format with regard to other types of sources. The use of software such as RefWorks
or EndNote for publishing and managing bibliographies, citations and references is also
encouraged. Students should note that references not cited in the text should not be listed here, and
vice versa.

2.15 Appendices

Appendices are located immediately after the References section. They usually contain
information or data that is too detailed for the main body of the thesis. Examples include the Bill of
Engineering Measurements and Evaluation (BEME), manufacturers‟ data for components, very
lengthy quotations, programming codes, etc. Appendices are normally to be cited and paginated
consecutively with the main text. Each appendix should normally start on a new page.